Flexible coupling device



. F. C. GREULICH 1- FLEXIBLE COUPLINQ DEVICE Sept. 26, 1939.

v Filed March 7, 1936 mvrirrok BY Fian/wr 6. GEEUL/Ch Mm 8 1%:

ATTORNEY:

Patented Sept. 26, 1939 l, rose, riot No. oltt lemme. (m p I 'stiv theclutch members of the coupling invention reietes to e power tretccoupling end, es its priucil ohiect, swto provide cu improved iievice oichcrocter mi":

mittiuc me sud hodvinc vieldelole power tr hevius meeus ior cu ticellvreleasing the power ttiug uuectioii uu the occurreuce oi overload.

Another oloiect oi this invention is to provide so no rotsrv mi. devicehousing w flexible power transmitting echo and having memes forsutoiucticolly releasing the power transmitting connection upoupredetelued fierihs oi the rierdlole messes.

htill another object of this invention is to pro: vids on improvedcoupling device having cooperetine clutch memhers coolly meiritelued indriving cooperetiou with each other by our means, cool wherein spredetened her of Q the spring" rueeus hr the; lceol leciue transmittedpermits dicensogemeut oi the clutch members.

A iurther object oi invention is to pro-= tide on improved roterv coupedevice substantially elicited short members, end cooperating clutchmemlcers associated with the shell: members curl normally ruciuteiuecliii clrlviris eugecemt with eech other lav e spring, and whereinrelative movement between one of the clutch members out its shsit metercauses such cue clutch member to he moved out of eugeg'emeut with theother clutch mcm'lcer option to the series.

The invention may he further briefly smsr= iced us its in certain novelcomloin'stiohs and erreugemeuts of ports hereiueiter descrihed and moreparticularly set out in the appended claims.

in the eccompeuviuc drewiuc, Fig. i is s side elevation showius mv:lproveol coupling device being used to "m. to loud to as driving motor.

L le. 2 is e lom'itudiuel sectional view taken zihrough e, couplingdevice choice? my invenon. 4- Ms. 3 is s, trsusverse wctiouel viewthereof token cu liue 8-3 oi his. 2. i is s loituel seotiousi view tokenthroh soother coupling device ems my invention. w 5 is c, t sectionalview thereof tsk u on line H of his. 1-. e

Fig. 8 is e longltuel sectional view showi'ug still another flexiblecoupling hodvl. vention, and 8o Figs. 7 and t ere y inctive viewsshowing, re-

' detailed reference will now he made, I have shown what I now regard tohe preferred forms of my 5 improved coups device. Before proceeding withs detailed description of these preferred forms, I wish to brieflyexplain that my coupling device is intended to he used wherever acoupling is neededto connect driving and driven members. W

My. improved device is especially useful for connectiug'drivius cuddriven members where ilembilitv in the ve is desired for cushioning andvibration euet n and where automatic relcuse oi the driving connectionis w desirehlein the event or overload. 3:11.. proved device mayedvcntegeously be employed for ilm e. drivi connection between 2?,generator and e iuternel cbustion ene oi e motor vehicle, or for use indriving arrange to merits. for cmnlziug or starting purposes.

ere cushioned eml six-sorted hr the flexible mes,

end suddenly applied overloecis ere autometicsllv lit releesed toprevent clsmeee to the driving or driven apparatus during the period ofoverload and, after teuctiou or the overload, the uormel drivingrelation is eutometicclly reestshlished. 0 c example oi use oi myimproved couw cling device is illustreted in Fig. 1 wherein Ti show myimproved coupling device it connecting e driving motor 9 i withcpperstus i2 1 a. loud to be veu luv the otor.

shown in Figs. 2 and t oi the drawing, my proved coupling device may heprovided with house or sheit memhers it and i5 adapted to be connected,respectively, to suhstentielly'oligned 1 driving and driven shsits itand ii. The memhere it and it may he connected to their respecit tiveshafts by suitable mesus, such as e.

-tverse pin it extending therethrough. The member it meylce constructedwith'e; sleeve or normally in, driving engagement with each other. 9

The clutch member ii may he a. square or other non-circular part carriedby the stem portion 26, Fund the clutch member 22 may be a collar ornut-like part having a square or other non-circular opening 23 in whichthe clutch member 2! 55 member engage.

engages. The stem portion 2. may include a projection 24 which extendsbeyond the clutch with the barrel portion l9 and with the retaining nut25 thereof, whereby this flange portion and the projection 24 maintainthe shaft members i4 and It in substantially axial alignment with theshaft members I! and i1.

The cooperating clutch members 2| and 22 are relatively short ascompared with the total axial length of the coupling device, and theengagement between these members is such that the driving connectionprovided thereby may be disconnected and reestablished by movement ofthe member 22 axially of the coupling device and relative to the member2|. This axial relative movement of the clutch member 22 may be obtainedby an operating connection provided between this member and the barrelpart It. This connection permits relative rotary movement between thebarrel part and the clutch-member 22 and, when such relative rotarymovement occurs, it is utilized to cause axial movement of this clutchmember relative to the clutch member 2|. An operating connection betweenthe clutch member 22 and the barrel part I! suitable for the purposejust mentioned may be obtained by providing the barrel part with spiralslots or grooves 26' in which lugs or pins 21 of the clutch The slots26' serve as cam members and the pins 21 serve as cam followers so thatrelative rotary movement between the barrel part and the clutch membercauses axial movement of the latter.

Relative rotary and axial movement of the clutch member 22 is resistedby a compression spring 28 which is contained within the barrel part l9and disposed between the clutch memher and the annular flange portion25. This spring resists movement of the clutch member 22 sufliciently tonormally maintain the clutch members 2| and 22 in driving engagement,but yields to absorb shocks and vibrations occurring as the result ofsudden changes in the magnitude or direction of the load beingtransmitted; The characteristics of this spring are preferably such thatit will yield to absorb such shocks and vibrations without releasing thedriving connection provided by the clutch members 2| and 22, but when anoverload occurs it will yield sufficiently to permit enough axialmovement of the clutch member 22 to become disengaged from the clutchmember 2|. When this occurs, the clutch members 2| and 22 and theirrespective shafts l6 and I1 rotate relatively to each other as long asthe overload condition exists. When the overload condition subsides, thespring 28 moves the clutch member 22 in the opposite axial direction andthereby reestablishes its driving connection with the clutch member 2|.

If desired, this improved coupling device may be provided with asuitable casing or housing member for retaining lubricant in the barrelpart I! and for excluding water and other foreign substances. Thishousing member is preferably,

though not necessarily, in the form of a sleeve 2! which surrounds thebarrel part is.

In Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawing I have shown another embodiment of myinvention in the form 2,174,342 '7 I I r of a flexible rotary couplingdevice generally similar to the device of Fig. 2, but which is adaptedto-the transmission of loads in either direction therethrough, and whichprovides for cushioning and automatic release of shocks and overloadstransmitted. in either direction through the device. The coupling deviceof Figs. 4 and 5 may be provided with coaxially extending shaft members30 and il which are connected, respectively, with driving and drivenshafts a and a. The shaft member 30 may have an axially extending stempart 34 which is provided at an intermediate point thereon with a squareor other non-circular portion forming a clutch member 35. The shaftmember 3| may have an axially extending sleeve or barrel part 28 whichsurrounds the stem part 34. A clutch member 31 having driving engagementwith the clutch member 35 is contained in the barrel part 36 and isnormally maintained at an intermediate point thereof and in drivingengagement with the clutch member 36, by coil springs 38 and 19contained in the barrel part on opposite sides thereof.

Provision is made whereby relative rotary movement between the barrelpart and the clutch member 31 causes movement of the latter in an axialdirection relative to the clutch member 35. This may be obtained byproviding the barrel part 36 with helically extending slots or groovesin which projecting pins or screws 4| of the clutch member 31 engage.

With the arrangement just described it will be se'en'that clockwiserotary movement transmitted through the device in one direction, forexample from the shaft 32 to the shaft 33, will cause relative rotarymovement between the barrel part 36 and the clutch member 31 resultingin a compression of the spring 38 and axial movement of this clutchmember toward the right. -'If the force being transmitted does notcompress the spring ,38 sufliciently to release the clutch member 31from driving engagement with the clutch member 25, the powertransmitting connection is not interrupted. If a sudden overload occurs,however, the spring 38 is compressed further and the clutch member 31 isdisengaged from the clutch member 35 and the driving connection isthereby interrupted, and relative rotation between the shafts 32 and 33is permitted while condition will cause the clutch member 31 to be'disengaged from the clutch member 35, but by axial movement in theopposite direction.

In Figs. 6, '1 and 8 I have shown my invention embodied in a flexiblecoupling device which, from the standpoint of manufacture, may haveadvantages over the device illustrated in Fig. 2.

The principle of operation is, however, substantially the same.

The device of Fig. 6 is adapted to .be applied to substantially axiallyaligned shafts and 46 and may include a shaft member 4'! connected withthe shaft 45 and having an annularly extending flange part 48 forming aseat for a compression spring 49. A clutch member 50 may be connectedwith the shaft 46 and may have an arcuately extending series of teeth 5|for releasable driving connection with a similar arcu- 'ately extendingseries of teeth 52 carried by a second clutch member 53. This secondclutch member is provided with an internally threaded sleeve or nut part54 which extends axially of the device and toward the shaft member 41.An

annular flange 55 carried by the clutch member jection 51 in .acorrespondingly shaped opening 5B of thisshaft member. The various partsmay be retained in the assembled relation shown in Fig. 6 by providingthe device with a suitable housing, preferably in the form of an axiallyextending sleeve or barrel 5!! having a retaining flange 60 forcooperation with the clutch member and a retaining nut 6| forcooperation with the flange portion 48.

In the operation of the flexible coupling device just described the coilspring 49 normally maintains the teeth of the clutch. members 50 and 53in driving engagement with each other, but is adapted to be flexed moreor less as the result of load variations causing relative rotarymovement between the drive screw 56 and thenut portion 54 of the clutchmember 53. Such load variations are normally cushioned by the spring 49without releasing the driving engagement between the clutch members 50and 53 but, upon the occurrence of an overload condition, the spring 49will be flexed to a greater extent and the clutch member 53 will bemoved axially a distance to release its teeth 52 from driving engagementwith the teeth 5| of the clutch member 50. When this occurs, relativerotation between the shafts 45 and 46 is permitted until the conditionof overload is removed, whereupon the spring 49 will automatically causethe driving connection between the clutch members to be reestablished.

From the foregoing description and accompanying drawing it will now bereadily understood that I have provided an improved flexible couplingdevice of reliable and simplified construction which, during operation,will absorb shocks and vibrations resulting from sudden changes inmagnitude or direction of power transmission, and which willautomatically release the driving connection when an overload occurs andautomatically restore the driving connection when the overload conditionis removed.

My improved device is of very economical construction, and when used to'connect various machines and devices effectively prevents damage theretoas the result of shocks and overloads.

While I have illustrated and described my improved flexible couplingdevice in a somewhat detailed manner it will be understood, of' course,that I do not Wish to be limited to the precise details of constructionand arrangements of parts herein disclosed, but regard my invention asincluding such changes and modifications as do not constitute adeparture from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appendedclaims. 7 Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a rotary combined cushioning and overload release device a pair ofsubstantially aligned shaft members, a hollow casing having one endthereof mounted on one of said shaft members and also having an internalshoulder adjacent its other end a clutch member connected with the otherof the shaft members and disposed substantially coaxialiy in the hollowcasing, said clutch member being rotatable in the casing and havingmeans engageable with said internal shoulder for limiting relative axialshifting outwardly of the casing, a second clutch member normally havingdriving engagement with the first mentioned clutchmember but movableaxially out of engagement therewith, cooperating cam elements connectingthe second clutch member with said one shaft member whereby'relativerotary movement therebetween causes movement of the second clutch memberaxially relative to the first mentioned clutch member, and spring meanscontained in the casing and acting on said second clutch member toresist the relative movement thereof but permitting separation of theclutch members when the load being transmitted exceeds a predeterminedvalue, said spring said clutch member being rotatable in the casing andhaving means engageable with said internal shoulder for limitingrelative axial shifting outwardly of the casing, a second clutch membernormally having driving engagement with the first mentioned clutchmember but movable axially out of engagement therewith, cooperating camelements connecting the second clutch member with said one shaft memberwhereby relative rotary movement therebetween in either direction causesmovement of the second clutch member axially relative to the firstclutch member, and springs contained in the casing and acting on thesecond clutch member to resist relative axial movement thereof in eitherdirection but permitting separation of the clutch members when the 4load being transmitted exceeds a predetermined value, said springs,clutch members and cam elements having characteristics providing forabsorption of shocks and vibrations during normal load transmittingfunctions of the device.

3. In a rotary coupling device, a shaft member having a hollow partconnected therewith and provided with a cam groove, a member in saidhollow part and having means cooperating with said cam groove wherebyrelative rotary movement between the hollow part and said member causesaxial movement of the latter, a second shaft member having a partextending into said hollow part and normally drivingly engaged by theaxially movable member, and spring means in said hollow part and actingon the axially movable member to yieldingly maintain the same in drivingengagement with the extending part of the second shaft member butpermitting disengagement of such member and part when the load beingtransmitted exceeds a predetermined value, said spring means and camgroove having characteristics providing for relative movement betweensaid hollow part and said member for absorption of shocks and vibrationsduring normal load transmitting functions of the coupling.

4. In a rotary couplingdevice, a shaft member having a hollow partconnected therewith and provided with a helical cam groove, a member insaid hollow part at an intermediate point thereof and having meanscooperating with said cam groove whereby relative rotary movement between the hollow part and said member in either direction causes axialmovement of the latter, a second shaft member having appart extendinginto said hollow part and normally drivingly engaged by the axiallymovable member, and springs in said hollow part on opposite sides of theaxially movable member to yieldingly hold the latter in drivingengagement with said extending part but permitting disengagement of saidmember and part when the load being transmitted exceeds a predetermined'value, said springs and cam groove having characteristics providing forrelative movement between said hollow part and saidmember for absorptionof shocks and vibrations during the normal load transmitting functionsoi the coupling.

5. In a rotary coupling device, a shaft member having a hollow partconnected therewith and provided with a cam' groove, a member in saidhollow part and having means cooperating with said cam groove wherebyrelative rotary movement between the hollow part and said member causesaxial movement of the latter, such axially movable member havingarelatively short non-circular axial opening, a second shaft memberextending into said hollow part and having a relatively shortnon-circular axial part normally drivingly engaged by the axiallymovable member, and spring means in said hollow part and acting on theaxially movable member to yieldingly maintain the same in drivingengagement with the extending part of the second shaft member butpermitting disengagement 01' such member and part when the load beingtransmitted exceeds a predetermined value,v said spring means and camgroove having characteristics providing for relative movement betweensaid hollow part and said member for absorption oi shocks and vibrationsduring the normal load transmitting functions of the coupling.

6. A flexible coupling and overload release device comprising anelongated housing having openings at opposite ends and internal annularshoulders adjacent such openings, 9. pair of substantially aligned shaftmembers extending into the housing at opposite ends thereof and heldagainst outward axial shifting by said shoulders,

one of said members having clutch elements thereon, a screw extendingaxially of the housing-and connected with the other of said members, anut having threaded engagement with said screw and also having clutchelements thereon engageable with the clutch elements of said one member,and a spring engaging said other member and said nut and adapted tonormally hold said clutch elements in engagement.

7. A flexible coupling and overload release device comprising anelongated housing having openings at opposite ends and internal annularshoulders adjacent such openings, a pair of substantially aligned shaftmembers extending into the housing at opposite ends thereof and heldagainst outward axial shifting by said shoulders, one of said membershaving clutch elements thereon and an axial extension portion and theother member having a non-circular opening therein, a screw mounted onsaid extension por-' tion and having a non-circular portion engaging insaid non-circular opening, a nut having threaded engagement with saidscrew and also having clutch elements engageable with the 'clutchelements of said one member, means on said nut providing -a spring seat,and a coil spring extending'axially of the housing around said nut andengaging said other member and said spring seat, said spring beingadapted to normally hold said clutch elements in engagement but yieldingto absorb shocks and to permit separation of said clutch elements in theevent of overload.

" FRANK C. GREUHCH.

